I could not agree more with Congressman Ellison. You want to never treat Trump like anything but what his is-completely ridiculous, a huge joke, but a joke that would be on the American people if he ever got anywhere near the White House.

I have nothing bad to say about Kaine but the question with him is does he generate enough excitement and can he be the attack dog Hillary has said she wants?

That won't be a problem for Franken to say the least.

I'm right now down to four top choices.

1. Elizabeth Warren

2. Julian Castro

3. Tim Kaine

4. Al Franken

But I've more and more come to think that Franken is the best choice.

Castro may be a big too young-he has plenty of time to develop. Yes, it would be nice to add the diversity and have the first Latino VP. But I honestly don't feel at this point it's essential. Latinos are going to be very motivated to vote against Donald Trump and for Hillary's strong immigration reform platform-she's vowed to pass something in the first 100 days.

Besides I don't know if Castro is the attack dog.

Castro doesn't speak Spanish that well either-which is not the end of the world as most American Latinos speak English well. Still, that is something that the white male Tim Kaine does have-he speaks Spanish fluently.

Again, though he may not be the attack dog and there's little about him that makes you think he'll be ready to be President on day one if needed.

Warren has been someone I've been very skeptical for the reasons that Chris Cillzza lists.

"Trust me when I tell you that Warren withholding her support — and making sure that people knew she was still withholding her support — did not and does not sit well in Clintonworld. Warren was already regarded by many within the Democratic establishment — including a decent-sized chunk of the Obamans — as a bit of a grandstanding, holier-than-thou figure. (Her relationship with Clinton has been very up and down through the years as well.) Warren's decision to keep on the sidelines throughout the primary process only reinforced that sense for many people."

Yes, I wasn't happy with that either. In fairness. let's not forget who else withheld his support-President Obama. He was technically neutral until after California.

The difference, of course, is that this neutrality was clearly just a technicality. No one doubted for one moment where his loyalty resided.

When Warren claimed to be neutral, it seemed like more than a technicality. it seemed like maybe genuine agnosticism.

Though I do have to admit: by waiting until the primary is over, Warren's endorsement may well be much more helpful for Hillary than if she had endorsed her during the primary.

This way she's seen as a more honest broker by the Bernie supporters who we want to bring into the tent.

I did at least appreciate Warren's very strong endorsement of Hillary: it was not perfunctionary. When she said 'A lot of people take shots at Hillary Clinton but no one doubts she can throw a punch' it even made me, Warren skeptic that I am think that maybe there's something to having this all girl power ticket.

But I still strongly suspect Cillizza is dead right.

Warren has her own celebrity and would always be stepping on Hillary's toes, even if inadvertently.

Can she be an advocate for Hillary's positions whether she totally agrees with them privately or not? That's what a VP must do. You represent the Administration first not yourself. That's what Biden always had in spades.

This is the area where Franken simply blows away Warren as a pick-besides the fact that he's in the blue state of Minnesota where there's no worry about his replacement in the Senate.

Al Franken is 100 percent loyal to Hillary Clinton. He has been back to the 90s if you read his very funny books back then.

He was the first to endorse her in December of 2014. And, yes, his endorsement was very funny.

'If this is what you mean by an endorsement, than yes.'

He was asked if he needs to see who she's running against he gave the right answer:

'No, I don't need to see who else is running.'

True, he doesn't have any foreign policy experience but none of the Democrats on the list in this cycle really do. They are mostly Senators.

And ironically, Hillary as the first female major party nominee, is seen as so tough, that this is hardly a worry.

But overall, Franken is someone you could imagine if, God forbid, he needed to assume the Presidency for any reason.

The only box Franken doesn't check is adding to the diversity of the ticket. But as I argued above, I don't see having a POC at this point is essential.

The POC who are are potential candidates are young and could be have their own chances in 2024.

Kindle

Confessions of a Conservative

About Me

I wear your scorn like a badge of honor. After all they killed Socrates as well.
But if you really want to get to know me I say Plato, Nietzsche, Keynes, Garry Wills, and Michael Lind.
Read those five gentlemen and you will get a major clue on how I view this thing called human society.
For those of you not too prone to seasickness, welcome aboard.